Beers from Dogfish Head, Jack’s Abby, The Tap and Saranac reviewed

There are so many new beers out there, it’s hard to keep up with them.

So, dear reader, I will sacrifice my liver and try as many of these new beers as possible and let you know how they are

First up is the Dogfish Head Sixty-One, the first new core beer from Dogfish Head since 2007.

Sixty-One is fantastic. It is the Dogfish Head 60-Minute IPA, with one addition, red wine must.

That one addition turns a good IPA into something I can’t get enough of. The red wine flavors work fabulously in the beer – you get the hoppiness of the 60-Minute, but the fruity flavors makes this a unique beer. There are IPAs brewed with fruit, but this is pretty much a step above all of those.

I bought a four-pack the other day, and I plan on buying another one by this weekend. If you’re iffy about this beer, pick up a single somewhere and give it a shot. I’d be surprised if you don’t buy more.

Next up is the Jack’s Abby Brewing’s Second Anniversary Lager, the newest double India pale lager.

I’ve been a fan of pretty much every Jack’s Abby beer, and love their first DIPL, Kiwi’s Rising. I’m just as a big of a fan with the Second Anniversary Lager.

This is a hophead’s dream beer. The beer is brewed with Mosaic, Amarillo, Apollo, Citra, Calypso and Simcoe hops, and creates a lager with great hop flavor and aroma. It has a mixture of piney and tropical fruit flavors, with enough malt backbone to keep the hops honest.

This beer kind of reminded me of Lagunitas’ Hop Stoopid, which I’m also a big fan of, although the Second Anniversary Lager is an easier drinking beer.

The Tap Brewing Company has been brewing its Berliner weisse for awhile, and for the first time the Intergalactic Acid.

The Intergalactic Acid is only 3 percent ABV, but if you think low alcohol beers can’t be flavorful or complex, this will shatter that perception. It is tart, funky and a bit sour. It’s acidic, but in a good way. The only negative is how quick it goes down – it’s like a lemonade on a hot day – you can’t get enough of it.

Those were the good, now for the not quite as good beers.

I picked up the new Saranac mixed 12-pack specifically to try two new beers, the Saranac Session Ale and the Wild Hops Pils.

The Session Ale is a 4.5 percent ABV blond ale. Blond ales are on the mild side, but mild does not mean bland. The Saranac Session Ale was bland. There was just a hint of sweetness, but there really wasn’t much too it. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good.

The Wild Hop Pils, a 5.2 percent ABV pilsner, fell in the same boat. It was on the bland side. It had a little hop flavor, but not enough. I was hoping for that fresh hop flavor that you get from fresh hop beers, but it wasn’t there. It was middle-of-the-road at the most.

Now, I need to head to the liquor store to buy some other new beers. Any recommendations?

Norman Miller

There are so many new beers out there, it’s hard to keep up with them.

So, dear reader, I will sacrifice my liver and try as many of these new beers as possible and let you know how they are

First up is the Dogfish Head Sixty-One, the first new core beer from Dogfish Head since 2007.

Sixty-One is fantastic. It is the Dogfish Head 60-Minute IPA, with one addition, red wine must.

That one addition turns a good IPA into something I can’t get enough of. The red wine flavors work fabulously in the beer – you get the hoppiness of the 60-Minute, but the fruity flavors makes this a unique beer. There are IPAs brewed with fruit, but this is pretty much a step above all of those.

I bought a four-pack the other day, and I plan on buying another one by this weekend. If you’re iffy about this beer, pick up a single somewhere and give it a shot. I’d be surprised if you don’t buy more.

Next up is the Jack’s Abby Brewing’s Second Anniversary Lager, the newest double India pale lager.

I’ve been a fan of pretty much every Jack’s Abby beer, and love their first DIPL, Kiwi’s Rising. I’m just as a big of a fan with the Second Anniversary Lager.

This is a hophead’s dream beer. The beer is brewed with Mosaic, Amarillo, Apollo, Citra, Calypso and Simcoe hops, and creates a lager with great hop flavor and aroma. It has a mixture of piney and tropical fruit flavors, with enough malt backbone to keep the hops honest.

This beer kind of reminded me of Lagunitas’ Hop Stoopid, which I’m also a big fan of, although the Second Anniversary Lager is an easier drinking beer.

The Tap Brewing Company has been brewing its Berliner weisse for awhile, and for the first time the Intergalactic Acid.

The Intergalactic Acid is only 3 percent ABV, but if you think low alcohol beers can’t be flavorful or complex, this will shatter that perception. It is tart, funky and a bit sour. It’s acidic, but in a good way. The only negative is how quick it goes down – it’s like a lemonade on a hot day – you can’t get enough of it.

Those were the good, now for the not quite as good beers.

I picked up the new Saranac mixed 12-pack specifically to try two new beers, the Saranac Session Ale and the Wild Hops Pils.

The Session Ale is a 4.5 percent ABV blond ale. Blond ales are on the mild side, but mild does not mean bland. The Saranac Session Ale was bland. There was just a hint of sweetness, but there really wasn’t much too it. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good.

The Wild Hop Pils, a 5.2 percent ABV pilsner, fell in the same boat. It was on the bland side. It had a little hop flavor, but not enough. I was hoping for that fresh hop flavor that you get from fresh hop beers, but it wasn’t there. It was middle-of-the-road at the most.

Now, I need to head to the liquor store to buy some other new beers. Any recommendations?

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